Dissertation Research: The Role of Chirality in Olfactory- Directed Aggregation of Pine Bark Beetles (Coleoptera: Scolytidae)

Ips属的树皮甲虫产生并感知信息素化合物的混合物。Ipsenol和ipsdienol是两种信息素和异激素成分，它们的特异性可能指导同一寄主松树不同亚属群的同域种对资源的分配。异二烯醇的立体化学对松果的聚集行为尤为重要。因为雄性和雌性都对雄性产生的(-)-异丙二烯醇混合物有反应，所以可以通过测量每个反应组的异丙二烯醇的产生来直接测试反应的立体特异性和产生之间的联系。在同域种paraconfusus中，单萜前体的存在或缺失可能决定哪些寄主可以定植。利用气相色谱-质谱仪器对提取样品进行分析，并对松树的聚集行为进行实地生物测定，将提高对树皮甲虫化学生态学的理解，这是林业工作者非常感兴趣的课题，因为树皮甲虫是严重的森林害虫。

Bark beetles in the genus Ips produce and perceive blends of pheromone compounds. Ipsenol and ipsdienol are two pheromone and allomone components whose specificity may guide resource partitioning of the same host pine by sympatric species in different subgeneric groups. The stereochemistry of ipsdienol is particularly crucial to the aggregation behavior of I. pini. Because both males and females respond to male-produced blends of (-)-ipsdienol, the link between the stereospecificity of response and production can be tested directly by measuring the production of ipsdienol for each response group. In the sympatric species I. paraconfusus, the presence or absence of monoterpene precursors may delineate which hosts can be colonized. The analysis of extract samples using GC-MS instrumentation and field bioassays on the aggregation behavior of I. pini will improve understanding of Ips chemical ecology, a subject of great interest to foresters since bark beetles are serious forest pests.